Ventura County supervisors order report on fracking

Citing the need to protect the water supply, county supervisors on Tuesday authorized a study on fracking and urged the passage of state legislation.

Supervisors Steve Bennett and John Zaragoza called for a management report in three months on hydraulic fracking, saying there are many unknowns about the longtime method used by the energy industry to extract underground oil and natural gas.

"We simply do not know enough about fracking to tell our constituents whether there is a significant risk from this process or not," the two supervisors said in a letter to the board.

The board voted 3-1 at Tuesday's meeting with Supervisor Peter Foy dissenting to authorize the study by the offices of County Executive Mike Powers and County Counsel Leroy Smith.

County Supervisor Linda Parks was absent for the vote because she was attending outgoing Mayor Jacqui Irwin's State of the City address in Thousand Oaks.

The management report is supposed to provide information on the amount and source of fresh water used in local fracking operations, details on disposal of wastewater created by the process, the extent of the county's authority over fracking and other issues. It is to be completed by March 13.

In a letter to legislators representing Ventura County, supervisors asked for prompt action related to regulation and public disclosure.

Fracking involves pumping chemically treated water at high pressures into deep rock formations. The process creates or widens cracks, allowing oil or natural gas to be released.

Fracking has been used for decades, according to the energy industry. But concerns have arisen lately over potential links to tainted groundwater.

Industry representative Sandra Burkhart urged the board to hold off while the state Department of Conservation develops regulations related to fracking. Burkhart said fracking has been done for 60 years and she knew of no cases in which the groundwater had been contaminated.

Burkhart, senior coastal coordinator for the Western States Petroleum Association, said she expects new regulations by the middle of next year.

She said after the meeting that she was concerned the county inquiry would lead to unsubstantiated fears and misconceptions about fracking.

But Bennett, Zaragoza and Supervisor Kathy Long said their constituents are asking questions they would like to be able to answer.

In their letter to the board, Bennett and Zaragoza said the county's great reliance on local water supplies makes it imperative to stay abreast of any potential risks to those supplies. They agreed with Foy that it was important to consider the economic benefits of the petroleum industry, but said that must be balanced with the protection of natural and agricultural resources.

"It is important that this balancing continue to occur, and to do so, we must have adequate information on which we and the public can make decisions," the letter said.